Chandeswory Residence
Earthquake in Nepal
The earthquake on April 25th 2015 didn’t affect our Sano Sansar home, but it affected people all around the country, among which were the families of our children. The news out of Nepal after the first and strongest earthquake were catastrophic and most people in Nepal are still suffering from its terrible consequences.
To get a general idea of the situation, around 200 aftershocks were recorded, 35 of 75 areas were damaged, more than 8,800 people died, more than 22,000 were wounded, and more than 5 million lost their homes, including most of our children’s families.
Some of the operations aid from Petit Món with the collaboration of Amics de Nepal, ASL-Erec and nepali boyscouts
Petit Món decided to help providing food (rice, lentils, oil, chickpeas…) and other essential materials (tents, chlorine pills, medication, etc.) to different villages located in some of the most affected areas, such as Sindhupalchok, Dolhaka and Nuwakot.
After the monsoon time, a second helping phase was started. The goal was the reconstruction of a residence for blind children in the Nuwakot area.
The residence state after the earthquake. The house was only one floor with 7 rooms and the bathroom were outside in an other building.
Chandeswory Blind Hostel reconstruction
Project background:The residence was inaugurated in 1998 with the aim of hosting blind children from the region to give them the opportunity of going to the public school of the same name, which is about 300 meters from the residence.
The government has given visibility to the project and the people responsible for the management of the public school are also responsible for the management of the residence.
The children go to school together with some other 700 children from the town and surroundings. They have an adapted classroom with texts in braille, among other equipment. This initiative is part of an inclusive education program. The government provides a monthly aid per child of 2000 NRP. This is a very small amount, even for Nepali standards. They do not receive any other help. The residence hosts 20 children between the ages of 6 and 18 years old with different levels of blindness.
Petit Món funded and ran the reconstruction project through donations, different NGO’s, associations and volunteers who cooperated in the renovation (Recoop Nepal, Hugging Nepal, ASL-Erec …). Art 23 is the architecture studio of Daniel Tejedor, who managed the rebuilding.
Art 23 is the architecture studio of Daniel Tejedor, who managed the rebuilding.
Some of the children from the residence
Location of the village and the conditions after the earthquake
Location: Town of Tupché (Nuwakot)
The village of Tupché is located 77 km from Kathmandu (paved road), in a wonderful place by the Trisuli River, one of the longest and mightiest in Nepal. After the earthquake most of the town was totally destroyed. There were 32 dead and more than 200 injured.
State of the classrooms
The public school Chandeswory
The Chandeswory Higher Secondary School is about 300 meters away from the residence. As a consequence of the earthquake, some of the classrooms were destroyed, including the one adapted for blind children.
The Creation of the Nirman cooperative for the construction of CEB
As part of the reconstruction project, the Recoop Nepal coalition (Terram, moviment nòmada and Nousol) launched an initiative for the cooperative creation and building of Compressed Earth Blocs (CEB). The goal: to empower the local population to be able to reconstruct their homes with minimal cost, low-impact development and adapted to the resources of the area. The idea being, that everyone in town could benefit from it and they would be involved in the project.
The machine and the whole installation for the production of BTC were left to the community and are owned by the cooperative managed by an NGO of Nepalese women, who work with it and are responsible for it.
The end of a stage and the start of a new one
The reconstruction phase ended in June 2017, and the children moved in on August 9th of that same year.
Children having lunch with Daniel (architect) the inauguration day.
After the invested effort, enthusiasm and time spent during the reconstruction, Petit Món aimed to give continuity to the project by contributing to improve the quality of the children’s lives.
We begun a new work routine both for children and for staff, to benefit everyone and provide facilities. The most important thing was the children’s care, in order to allow them to have a socio-emotional development, and promote their abilities and autonomy. This was a task run by the staff from the residence, who also took care of the building.
From Petit Món, we provided all personal hygiene items and household cleaning products. We also hired two people to help with domestic work, the care of the children and the maintenance of the place. We also provided volunteers to contribute to the adaptation, attention, education and personal development and growth of the children. Up to now we provided volunteers to contributed for the attention, adaptation, development and personal growth of children.
End of collaboration
After almost 4 years of cooperation with the Chandeswory School, November 2018 we finished the collaboration, beacause of the different goals of both parts, which aimed different ways.
However, from Petit Món with the goal to keep the children as the most important thing, we will continue to provide all necessary for them, giving all the essentials for daily routines.
We close this stage, with a bittersweet feeling, but with the happiness to have been able to done the Chandeswory Residence, and we hope that they continue hosting blind children for a long time.
Project sheet:
1st Stage: Emergency and immediate help
Start: April 2015
End: July 2015
Status: Finished. There were 18 expeditions of food, clothes and first-aid supplies to the most affected villages of Dolakha, Shindupalchok, Nuwakot, etc. During the monsoon period, we helped ASL-Erec firefighters and independent volunteers in the construction of temporary refuges for the most affected families.
2nd Stage: Reconstruction of the Chandeswory Blind Hostel
Start: May 2015
End: June 2015
Status: Finished
Estudi arquitectònic: Art23
Architecture Studio: Art23
Responsible architects: Daniel Tejedor and Imanol Granadino
Collaborative NGO’s: Recoop Nepal (Terram, Moviment Nòmada and Nousol), Ong ASL- Erec, Hugging Nepal, Time for Action
3rd Stage: Monitoring of the children and the maintenance of the residence
Start: August 2017
End: November 2018
Status: Puntual monitoring
For more information about the Project, do not hesitate to contact us, you can also find information on the posts in our blog or checking our photo gallery.